Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene was born in the town of Magdala on the shores of Lake Gennesaret, in Galilee, in the northern part of the Holy Land, not far from the place where John the Baptist baptized. When the Lord cleansed her soul and body from all sins, expelling seven demons from her, she, leaving everything, followed Him.

Saint Mary Magdalene followed Christ along with other myrrh-bearing women, showing touching concern for Him. Having become a faithful disciple of the Lord, she never left Him. She, the only one, did not leave Him when He was taken into custody. The fear that prompted the Apostle Peter to deny and forced all His other disciples to flee was in the soul of Mary Magdalene defeated by love. She stood at the Cross with Holy Mother of God, experiencing the suffering of the Savior and sharing the great sorrow of the Mother of God. When the warrior put the end of a sharp spear to the silent heart of Jesus, excruciating pain simultaneously pierced the heart of Mary.

Joseph and Nicodemus took down the Most Pure Body of the Lord Jesus Christ from the tree. The inconsolable Mother shed burning tears of immeasurable sorrow on the bloody wounds of the Immaculate Son. The precious Body of Jesus was, according to Jewish custom, wrapped in a thin shroud with incense.

It was about midnight, and the stars were already shining across the dark vault of the calm heavens, when Joseph and Nicodemus, lifting the Inestimable Burden on their shoulders, began to descend from the top of the mortal hill.

In deep silence they walked through the garden and reached east side it, adjacent to the rocky foot of Mount Moriah.

Here, in the stone wall formed by nature itself by the rocky ledges of the mountain, a new coffin was carved into the rock, in which no one had ever been laid. The servants rolled away the heavy stone that was blocking the entrance to the cave, and the light from the lit fires instantly penetrated under its gloomy arches. In the middle lay a smoothly hewn stone. The Body of the Unforgettable Teacher was placed on him by the disciples. The Most Holy Theotokos and Mary Magdalene looked at where He was laid.

A heavy stone was rolled against the door of the coffin.

After Saturday, on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb very early, when it was still dark, to pay the last honors to the body of the Savior, anointing it, according to custom, with myrrh and aromas, and sees that the stone has been rolled away from the tomb. With tears, she runs to Peter and John and tells them: “They took the Lord away from the tomb, and we do not know where they laid Him.” They immediately followed her and, coming to the tomb, they saw only the linen cloths and the linen cloth with which the head of Jesus was tied, carefully rolled up, not with the cloths, but lying in another place. “They did not yet know from the Scriptures that He must rise from the dead” (John 20:1-10).

Maintaining deep silence, Peter and John returned to their place, and Mary Magdalene, exhausted by ignorance and sadness, stood at the tomb and cried. Crying, she bent down, looked into the tomb and saw: in the place where the body of Jesus lay, two Angels in white robes were sitting. “Woman, why are you crying?” - they ask.

“They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Having said this, she turned back and saw Jesus standing; but did not recognize that it was Jesus.

“Woman, why are you crying? - Jesus tells her. “Who are you looking for?”

She, thinking that it is the gardener, says to Him: “Sir! If you have brought Him out, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him.”

"Maria!" – she suddenly heard a familiar, dear voice.

"Teacher!" - she exclaimed in her natural Aramaic language and threw herself at His feet.

But Jesus said to her: “Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; But go to My brothers and say to them: I ascend to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.”

Shining with happiness, revived to a new life, Mary Magdalene rushed to her disciples.

“I saw the Lord! He spoke to me!” - with blissful delight, shining with bright rays in the beautiful blue eyes, Mary informed the disciples of Jesus about the miraculous phenomenon that she had received. And her joy reached such proportions as her recent sorrow had reached.

"Christ is risen! He is truly the Son of God! I saw the Lord!…” - this was the first good news that Mary Magdalene brought to the apostles, the world’s first sermon about the Resurrection. The apostles were supposed to preach the gospel to the world, but she preached the gospel to the apostles themselves:

“Rejoice, you who first received the broadcast of the Resurrection from the lips of Christ;

Rejoice, you who first proclaimed the words of joy to the apostles.”

According to legend, Mary Magdalene preached the gospel not only in Jerusalem. When the apostles dispersed from Jerusalem to all corners of the world, she went with them. Mary, who kept every word of the Savior in her heart burning with divine love, left her native land and went to preach in pagan Rome. And everywhere she proclaimed to people about Christ and His teaching. And when many did not believe that Christ had risen, she repeated to them what she said to the apostles on the bright morning of the Resurrection: “I saw the Lord! He spoke to me." She traveled all over Italy with this sermon.

Tradition says that in Italy, Mary Magdalene appeared to Emperor Tiberius (14-37) and told him about the life, miracles and teachings of Christ, about His unrighteous condemnation by the Jews, about the cowardice of Pilate. The Emperor doubted the miracle of the Resurrection and asked for evidence. Then she took the egg and, giving it to the emperor, said: “Christ is Risen!” At these words, the white egg in the emperor’s hands turned bright red.

The egg symbolizes the birth of a new life and expresses our faith in the coming general Resurrection. Thanks to Mary Magdalene, the custom of giving gifts to each other easter eggs on the day of Christ's bright Resurrection spread among Christians all over the world. In one ancient handwritten Greek Charter, written on parchment, stored in the library of the monastery of St. Anastasia near Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki), there is a prayer read on the day of Holy Easter for the consecration of eggs and cheese, which indicates that the abbot, distributing the consecrated eggs, says to the brethren : “So we received from the holy fathers, who preserved this custom from the very times of the apostles, for the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene was the first to show the believers an example of this joyful sacrifice.”

Mary Magdalene continued her evangelism in Italy and in the city of Rome itself until the arrival of the Apostle Paul there and for another two years after his departure from Rome, after his first trial. Obviously, this is what the holy Apostle means in his Epistle to the Romans (Rom. 16:16), when he mentions Mary (Mariam), who “worked much for us.”

Mary Magdalene selflessly served the Church, exposing herself to dangers, sharing the labors of preaching with the apostles. From Rome the saint, already in old age, moved to Ephesus (Asia Minor), where she preached and helped the Apostle John the Theologian in writing the Gospel. Here, according to Church tradition, she reposed and was buried.

Where to venerate the relics of Mary Magdalene

In the 10th century, under Emperor Leo the Philosopher (886-912), the incorruptible relics of Saint Mary Magdalene were transferred from Ephesus to Constantinople. It is believed that during crusades they were transported to Rome, where they rested in the temple in the name of St. John Lateran. Later this temple was consecrated in the name of St. Mary Equal to the Apostles Magdalene. Part of her relics is located in France, in Provage, near Marseille. Parts of the relics of Mary Magdalene are kept in various monasteries of Mount Athos and in Jerusalem. Numerous pilgrims of the Russian Church who visit these holy places reverently venerate its holy relics.

“Rejoice, glorious evangelist of Christ’s teachings;

Rejoice, you who have loosed the sinful bonds of many people;

Rejoice, having taught everyone the wisdom of Christ.

Rejoice, holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene, who loved the sweetest Lord Jesus more than all the blessings.”

Glorification of Mary Magdalene

We magnify you, holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene, and honor your holy memory, who enlightened the whole world with your teachings and led you to Christ.

Friends, we congratulate everyone on the holiday and Happy Angel Day to all Marys!

We learn about the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene from the most valuable source for us - the Holy Scriptures. Mary was born in the city of Magdala in Galilee on the shores of Lake Gennesaret. Before meeting the Lord, a young, attractive girl led a sinful life and suffered from demonic possession, but, apparently, her heart was open to Divine love, since Mary immediately recognized the true son of God upon meeting Jesus Christ and sincerely believed in Him. Jesus Christ cast out seven demons from her, and she immediately followed Him, becoming one of His most faithful disciples.

Everything that happened to her after meeting the Son of God is an example of true Gospel love, fiery, active and not knowing fear. Mary followed Jesus relentlessly when He was taken into custody and the disciples fled in fear; she followed the Lord with tears when He carried his cross to Calvary; listened to His suffering and watched with pain the Savior’s last breaths. Mournfully she followed the body of Christ wrapped in a shroud, which was carried by Joseph and Nicodemus to the cave found for this.

Where did the young girl find so much courage, strength and patience to follow Christ until His last days no matter what? How pure and open her heart was, capable of containing immeasurable love and persistent faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps that is why she was honored with the great joy of being the first to see the already risen Jesus and to bring this good news to His disciples: the next day after Saturday, Mary was the first to run to the cave with oils and incense in order to thus pay the last honors to the Most Pure Body of the Lord according to custom. But behind the opened stone there was no body. In fear and despair, she ran to Peter and John, who returned with her to the tomb, but, seeing only the shrouds and the folded cloth, they returned in silence. Maria stood in tears near the cave. Wanting to make sure once again that the body was not in place, she again entered the cave and saw two Angels in white robes who asked: “Woman, why are you crying?” She answered: “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Having said this, she turned around and at that moment saw the Risen Jesus standing near the tomb, but did not recognize Him. He asked Mary: “Woman, why are you crying, Who are you looking for?” She, thinking that she saw the gardener, answered: “Sir, if you brought Him out, tell me where you laid Him, and I will take Him.” But at that moment she recognized the voice of the Lord, and only exclaimed: “Rabbi!”, which means “Teacher,” and fell at His feet. Jesus stopped her, saying that he had not yet ascended to His Father and asked her to run to His brothers and proclaim the good news. So, Mary announced to her disciples the most joyful, bright news, which they subsequently carried to the whole world, which we exclaim on Easter and every Sunday, which gives hope and faith to all Christians for salvation!

After the Ascension of the Lord, Mary led a pious, active life until the end of her days. She continued to serve the Lord through apostolic work, proclaiming the good news to people. At a time when the apostles dispersed to different parts of the world, preaching the Gospel, Mary went to Italy, preaching the good news about the Lord, about his Resurrection, which she witnessed. According to Holy Scripture, it was thanks to Mary that it became common practice in the Christian tradition to give eggs for Easter: having visited Emperor Tiberius in Rome, the saint handed him a white egg with the words “Christ is Risen,” and it instantly turned red (according to other sources, she immediately handed him a red one egg). After Paul came to Italy, Mary went to Ephesus (Asia Minor), testifying about the Lord together with John the Theologian. In this city she spent recent years life and was buried. Later, her holy relics were transported to Constantinople, and even later to Rome. On at the moment part of her relics is located in France, near Marseille, parts of the relics are kept in various monasteries of Holy Mount Athos and in Jerusalem.

Mary Magdalene was present during the life of Jesus Christ on earth. Like hundreds of other people, she could not believe in the Divine origin of the son of God and continue her sinful life, but she believed, and believed ardently and sincerely. It’s as if she took over His light and still shines for us on our spiritual path. The fiery love with which she served the Lord sometimes seems simply incredible. Where fear for life was stronger than reason and the voice of the heart, she boldly proved in practice her love and boundless faith. And it is precisely this “active faith” that helps us to cultivate and strengthen our faith in the Lord and in his Resurrection, in our time, so far from that period, when zeal is weakening, when so many “miracles” and “incredibles” are happening around, where there is so much different teachings, opinions, discoveries, which, like time, distance us from God. Only the Divine presence, the opportunity to hear His speeches, to see boundless love in His eyes, can inspire such selfless and active service. And for us it's best help in the spiritual journey, which we, fortunately, so often encounter when reading the Holy Scriptures.
Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene, pray to God for us!

The article was prepared by our volunteer Evgenia Lobaeva.

One of the myrrh-bearing women was honored to be the first among people to see the Risen Lord Jesus Christ.

She was born in the town of Magdala in Galilee. The inhabitants of Galilee were distinguished by their spontaneity, ardor of character and selflessness. These qualities were also inherent in Saint Mary Magdalene.

From her youth she suffered from a serious illness - demonic possession (Luke 8:2). Before the Coming of Christ the Savior into the world, there were especially many demoniacs: the enemy of the human race, foreseeing his imminent shame, rebelled against people with ferocious force. Through the illness of Mary Magdalene, the glory of God appeared, and she herself acquired the great virtue of complete trust in the will of God and unshakable devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Lord cast out seven demons from her, she left everything and followed Him.

Saint Mary Magdalene followed Christ along with other wives healed by the Lord, showing touching concern for Him. She did not leave the Lord after His capture by the Jews, when the faith of His closest disciples began to waver. The fear that prompted the Apostle Peter to renounce was overcome by love in the soul of Mary Magdalene. She stood at the Cross together with the Most Holy Theotokos and the Apostle John, experiencing the suffering of the Divine Teacher and communing with the great grief of the Mother of God. Holy Mary Magdalene accompanied the Most Pure Body of the Lord Jesus Christ when He was transferred to the tomb in the garden of Righteous Joseph of Arimathea, and was at His burial (Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:47).
Having served the Lord during His earthly life, she wanted to serve Him after death, giving the last honors to His Body, anointing it, according to the custom of the Jews, with peace and aromas (Luke 23:56). The risen Christ sent Saint Mary with a message from Him to the disciples, and the blessed wife, rejoicing, announced to the apostles about what she had seen - “Christ is risen!” As the first evangelist of Christ's resurrection, Saint Mary Magdalene is recognized by the Church as equal to the apostles. This gospel is the main event of her life, the beginning of her apostolic ministry.

According to legend, she preached the gospel not only in Jerusalem. Saint Mary Magdalene went to Rome and saw Emperor Tiberius. The emperor, known for his hardness of heart, listened to Saint Mary, who told him about the life, miracles and teachings of Christ, about His unrighteous condemnation by the Jews, and about the cowardice of Pilate. Then she presented him with a white egg with the words “Christ is risen!”, which turned red before everyone’s eyes.
This act of Saint Mary Magdalene is associated with the Easter custom of giving each other red eggs (an egg, a symbol of mysterious life, expresses faith in the coming general Resurrection).

Then Saint Mary went to Ephesus (Asia Minor). Here she helped the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian in his preaching. Here, according to Church tradition, she reposed and was buried. In the 9th century, under Emperor Leo VI the Philosopher, the incorruptible relics of Saint Mary Magdalene were transferred from Ephesus to Constantinople. It is believed that during the Crusades they were taken to Rome, where they rested in the temple in the name of St. John Lateran. Pope Honorius III consecrated this temple in the name of St. Mary Magdalene, Equal-to-the-Apostles.
Some of her relics are located in France, in Provages near Marseille, where a temple dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene was also erected. Parts of the holy relics of Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene are kept in various monasteries of Mount Athos and in Jerusalem. Numerous pilgrims of the Russian Church who visit these holy places reverently venerate its holy relics.

On August 4, 2017, at the chapel on the site of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene Equal to the Apostles on Potylikha, which is already becoming traditional for our parish, a prayer service took place in honor of the patronal feast day - the day of remembrance of the Holy Myrrh-Bearer.
Prayer service with blessing of water on this day significant date Three priests served at once - Archpriest Fr. Nicholas and priests Fr. Alexy and Fr. Maxim. Seminarians, young singers from the Sretensky Choir, sang in the choir on this day under the regency of Flor.

Despite it being a weekday (Friday), by 1 p.m., quite a lot of parishioners who live on Potylikha and constantly participate in the services held in the chapel, and some of the parishioners of the temple, had gathered at the chapel for a festive prayer service. Life-Giving Trinity in Troitsky-Golenischev, living far from the chapel, nevertheless, who came here to honor the memory of the Holy Myrrh-Bearer and take part in our common cause– the construction of a temple, which begins, first of all, with the revival of the spiritual life of people through their
joint (conciliar) prayer, which, undoubtedly, sanctifies not only everyone participating in it, but also all spiritually nourished God's temple districts. And even people who passed by the chapel that day on their usual worldly affairs stopped for a short time, already showing some kind of interest: some of them joined the worshipers, and others, perhaps, would become parishioners of the temple under construction in the future.

Those gathered impatiently and with trembling excitement awaited the start of the service, decorated the chapel and the Saint icon placed in front of it with fresh flowers, and even prepared tables with refreshments in advance for the festive common meal scheduled after the prayer service.
Everything about this day emphasized the importance of the upcoming event - the patronal feast day in honor of our revered Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Myrrh-Bearer Mary Magdalene.
Sacred Tradition tells that on the shore of Lake Gennesaret there was small town Magdala, where a woman named Maria was born and raised. The Gospel says that the Lord cast out seven demons from Mary. From the moment of her healing, Mary began new life, becoming a faithful disciple of the Savior, and always followed the Lord along with the apostles and other pious women.
The saint shared evangelistic labors with the apostles, which is why she is called equal to the apostles. The Gospel tells that at the moment of Christ’s procession to Calvary, carrying a heavy Cross after the scourging and exhausted under its weight, women followed Him, crying and sobbing, and He consoled them. When many of the Savior’s disciples fled, His faithful Mary Magdalene fearlessly remained at the Cross along with the Mother of God and the Apostle John on Calvary at the moment of the Lord’s crucifixion. The evangelists list among those who stood at the Cross other women who followed the Lord, but the first among them is always named, thereby especially highlighting Mary Magdalene. She was also present at the burial of the Lord.
The women agreed to go early in the morning on the first day of the week to the Tomb of the Teacher, in order to anoint His body with funeral aromas, according to the custom of the Jews. Mary came to the tomb first and saw the stone rolled away from the cave, which she hastily informed the closest apostles of Christ - Peter and John, and then, when the apostles, not finding the body of the Lord in the Tomb, left there in amazement, Mary was left alone at the entrance to the cave and cried. Here she saw two Angels in white robes, who informed her about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and, turning around, saw the Resurrected Teacher Himself standing near the tomb, but did not immediately recognize Him, mistaking Him for a gardener and begging to return the body of the Lord. Recognizing Him by his voice, the Saint turned to Him: “Rabbi!” (i.e. “Teacher!”). When the myrrh-bearing women hurried with fear and great joy to announce to the Lord’s disciples about His Resurrection, He met them with the words: “Rejoice!” With great respect, love, tenderness and deep reverence, they threw themselves at the feet of the Great Teacher and bowed to Him.
After this meeting, it was Mary Magdalene who preached the world's first sermon about the Resurrection of Christ. Running into the house where the Apostles were still in confusion, she announced to them the good news: “I saw the Lord!” The apostles dispersed from Jerusalem to preach to all corners of the world, and Mary Magdalene went to preach to pagan Rome. When many did not believe that Christ had risen, she repeated to them: “I saw the Lord.”
Mary Magdalene appeared to Emperor Tiberius and preached to him about the Risen Christ. She brought him a red egg, as a symbol of the Resurrection and new life, with the words: “Christ is Risen!” Thanks to Mary Magdalene, the custom of giving each other Easter eggs on the day of the Holy Resurrection of Christ spread among Christians.
Particularly revered by the Orthodox Church, the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Myrrh-Bearer Mary Magdalene, called by the Lord Himself from darkness to Light, delivered by Him from demons, sincerely and irrevocably beginning a new, righteous life and never wavering on this path, undoubtedly represents Orthodox people, especially women, who make up the majority of the parish of the temple under construction, an example of a proper attitude towards the Lord and sincere fearless loyalty to Him.
Those participating in the prayer service sincerely listened to everything that was happening at the service and prayed with inspiration and collectively, remembering the spiritual feat of our revered Holy Myrrh-Bearer - a faithful disciple of Christ.
After the festive prayer service, all those gathered were expected pleasant surprise: at first
there was a small concert of our neighbors - an ensemble from the Center for Russian Culture and Art under the direction of Vladimir Devyatov with very soulful songs, and then a masterly performance with a medley of famous musical works accordion player Nikolai, to whose accompaniment our female parishioners also sang a number of different cheerful and heartfelt songs beloved by the people.
So, with the construction of the temple, the Russians are also reborn folk traditions. It is known that in church parishes, especially rural ones, it has long been customary after the service in
It is a temple (throne) holiday to organize such public festivities and offer refreshments to the people, thereby once again noting the special attitude towards the corresponding day, when people leave all their worldly affairs and gather together for a common cause - the holiday of a particularly revered saint in the parish.
I would like to express to all the fathers, brothers and sisters who participated in our patronal feast on the day of remembrance of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Myrrh-Bearer Mary Magdalene, heartfelt gratitude and thank them with all my heart! Save you, Lord!
Alexey Belov

July 22 / August 4 Orthodox Church celebrates the day of remembrance of the Holy Myrrh-Bearer Mary Magdalene (I).

On the shores of Lake Gennesaret, between the cities of Capernaum and Tiberias, there was a small city of Magdala, the remains of which have survived to this day. Now in its place stands only the small village of Medjdel.

A woman was once born and raised in Magdala, whose name will forever be remembered. gospel story. The Gospel does not tell us anything about Mary’s youth, but Tradition tells us that Mary of Magdala was young, beautiful and led a sinful life. The Gospel says that the Lord cast out seven demons from Mary. From the moment of her healing, Maria began a new life. She became a faithful disciple of the Savior.

The Gospel tells that Mary Magdalene followed the Lord when He and the apostles passed through the cities and villages of Judea and Galilee preaching the Kingdom of God. Together with pious women - Joanna, the wife of Chuza (Herod's steward), Susanna and others, she served Him from their estates (Luke 8:1-3) and, undoubtedly, shared evangelistic works with the apostles, especially among women. Obviously, Evangelist Luke means her, along with other women, when he says that at the moment of Christ’s procession to Golgotha, when, after the scourging, He carried a heavy Cross on Himself, exhausted under its weight, the women followed Him, crying and sobbing, and He consoled their. The Gospel tells that Mary Magdalene was also on Calvary at the time of the Lord’s crucifixion. When all the Savior’s disciples fled, she fearlessly remained at the Cross along with the Mother of God and the Apostle John.

The evangelists also list among those who stood at the Cross the mother of the Apostle James the Less, and Salome, and other women who followed the Lord from Galilee itself, but everyone names Mary Magdalene first, and the Apostle John, besides the Mother of God, mentions only her and Mary of Cleopas. This indicates how much she stood out from among all the women surrounding the Savior.

She was faithful to Him not only in the days of His glory, but also at the time of His extreme humiliation and reproach. She, as the Evangelist Matthew narrates, was also present at the burial of the Lord. Before her eyes, Joseph and Nicodemus carried His lifeless body into the tomb. Before her eyes, they blocked the entrance to the cave with a large stone, where the Sun of Life had set...

Faithful to the law in which she was brought up, Mary, together with the other women, remained at rest the entire next day, for the day of that Saturday was great, coinciding with the Easter holiday that year. But still, before the onset of the day of rest, the women managed to stock up on aromas so that on the first day of the week they could come at dawn to the tomb of the Lord and Teacher and, according to the custom of the Jews, anoint His body with funeral aromas.

It must be assumed that, having agreed to go to the Sepulcher early in the morning on the first day of the week, the holy women, having gone to their homes on Friday evening, did not have the opportunity to meet each other on the Sabbath day, and as soon as the light dawned next day, they went to the tomb not together, but each from their own home.

Evangelist Matthew writes that the women came to the tomb at dawn or, as Evangelist Mark puts it, very early, at sunrise; Evangelist John, as if complementing them, says that Mary came to the tomb so early that it was still dark. Apparently, she was looking forward to the end of the night, but without waiting for dawn, when darkness still reigned all around, she ran to where the body of the Lord lay.

So Mary came to the tomb alone. Seeing the stone rolled away from the cave, she hurried in fear to where Christ’s closest apostles, Peter and John, lived. Hearing the strange news that the Lord was taken away from the tomb, both Apostles ran to the tomb and, seeing the shrouds and the folded cloth, were amazed. The apostles left and did not say anything to anyone, and Mary stood near the entrance to a dark cave and cried. Here, in this dark coffin, her Lord lay lifeless just recently. Wanting to make sure that the coffin was really empty, she approached it - and then a strong light suddenly shone around her.

She saw two Angels in white robes, sitting one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus was laid

Hearing the question: “Woman, why are you crying?” - she answered with the same words that she had just spoken to the Apostles: “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they laid Him.” Having said this, she turned around, and at that moment she saw the Risen Jesus standing near the tomb, but did not recognize Him.

He asked Mary: “Woman, why are you crying, Who are you looking for?” She, thinking that she saw the gardener, answered: “Sir, if you brought Him out, tell me where you laid Him, and I will take Him.”

But at that moment she recognized the voice of the Lord, a voice that was familiar from the very day He healed her. She heard this voice in those days, in those years when, together with other pious women, she followed the Lord through all the cities and villages where His preaching was heard. A joyful cry burst from her chest: “Rabbi!”, which means Teacher.

Respect and love, tenderness and deep reverence, a sense of gratitude and recognition of His superiority as a great Teacher - everything merged in this one exclamation. She could say no more and threw herself at the feet of her Teacher to wash them with tears of joy. But the Lord said to her: “Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; But go to My brothers and say to them: “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.”

She came to her senses and again ran to the Apostles to fulfill the will of the One who sent her to preach. Again she ran into the house, where the Apostles were still in confusion, and announced to them the good news: “I saw the Lord!” This was the world's first sermon on the Resurrection.

The Apostles were supposed to preach the gospel to the world, but she preached the gospel to the Apostles themselves...

Holy Scripture does not tell us about the life of Mary Magdalene after the resurrection of Christ, but there is no doubt that if in the terrible moments of Christ’s crucifixion she was at the foot of His Cross with His Most Pure Mother and John, then there is no doubt that she was with them throughout the immediate time after the resurrection and ascension of the Lord. Thus, Saint Luke writes in the book of the Acts of the Apostles that all the Apostles unanimously remained in prayer and supplication with certain women and Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

Sacred Tradition tells that when the Apostles dispersed from Jerusalem to preach to all corners of the world, Mary Magdalene also went with them to preach. A brave woman, whose heart was full of memories of the Risen One, left her native land and went to preach in pagan Rome. And everywhere she proclaimed to people about Christ and His teaching, and when many did not believe that Christ had risen, she repeated to them the same thing that she said to the Apostles on the bright morning of the Resurrection: “I saw the Lord.” She traveled all over Italy with this sermon.

Tradition says that in Italy, Mary Magdalene appeared to Emperor Tiberius (14-37) and preached to him about the Risen Christ. According to Tradition, she brought him a red egg as a symbol of the Resurrection, a symbol of new life with the words: “Christ is Risen!” Then she told the emperor that in his province of Judea, Jesus the Galilean, a holy man who performed miracles, strong before God and all people, was innocently convicted, executed at the slander of the Jewish high priests, and the sentence was confirmed by the procurator Pontius Pilate appointed by Tiberius.

St. Equal to the Apostles Mary Magdalene before Emperor Tiberius

Mary repeated the words of the Apostles that those who believed in Christ were redeemed from a vain life not with corruptible silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ as an immaculate and pure Lamb.

Thanks to Mary Magdalene, the custom of giving each other Easter eggs on the day of Christ's Holy Resurrection spread among Christians all over the world. In one ancient handwritten Greek charter, written on parchment, stored in the library of the monastery of St. Anastasia near Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki), there is a prayer read on the day of Holy Easter for the consecration of eggs and cheese, which indicates that the abbot, distributing the consecrated eggs, says to the brethren : “So we accepted from the holy fathers, who preserved this custom from the very times of the apostles, for the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene was the first to show the believers an example of this joyful sacrifice.”

Mary Magdalene continued her evangelism in Italy and in the city of Rome itself. Obviously, it is she who the Apostle Paul has in mind in his Epistle to the Romans (16:6), where, together with other ascetics of the preaching of the Gospel, he mentions Mary (Mariam), who, as he puts it, “has labored a lot for us.” Obviously, they selflessly served the Church both with their own means and their labors, exposing themselves to dangers, and shared the labors of preaching with the Apostles.

According to Church tradition, she stayed in Rome until the arrival of the Apostle Paul there and for another two years after his departure from Rome after his first trial. From Rome, Saint Mary Magdalene, already in old age, moved to Ephesus, where the holy Apostle John worked tirelessly, who, from her words, wrote the 20th chapter of his Gospel. There the saint ended her earthly life and was buried.

Her holy relics were transferred in the 9th century to the capital of the Byzantine Empire - Constantinople and placed in the church of the monastery in the name of St. Lazarus. During the era of the Crusades, they were transferred to Italy and placed in Rome under the altar of the Lateran Cathedral. Some of the relics of Mary Magdalene are located in France near Marseille, where a magnificent temple was erected in her honor at the foot of a steep mountain.

The Orthodox Church sacredly honors the memory of Saint Mary Magdalene - a woman called by the Lord Himself from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.

Once mired in sin, she, having received healing, sincerely and irrevocably began a new, pure life and never wavered on this path. Mary loved the Lord, who called her to a new life; She was faithful to Him not only when He, having cast out seven demons from her, surrounded by enthusiastic people, walked through the cities and villages of Palestine, gaining the glory of a miracle worker, but also when all the disciples left Him out of fear and He, humiliated and crucified , hung in agony on the Cross. That is why the Lord, knowing her faithfulness, was the first to appear to her, rising from the grave, and it was she who was vouchsafed to be the first preacher of His Resurrection.

Holy power equal to Apostles Mary Magdalene in the Cathedral of Wesel in Bavaria (Germany)

Troparion of Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene, tone 1

X Christ, for our sake, born of the Virgin, / the honorable Magdalino Mary, you followed, / keeping the justifications and laws. / Meanwhile, today we celebrate your all-holy memory, / pray for the resolution of sins / We accept yours.

Kontakion of Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene, tone 3

P standing, glorious, at the Cross of Spasov with many others,/ and the Mother of the Lord is compassionate, and shedding tears,/ offering this in praise, saying:/ that this is a strange miracle?/ Contain all the creature will suffer.// Glory to Thy power.

Prayer to Saint Mary Magdalene, Equal to the Apostles

ABOUT Holy myrrh-bearer and all-praised Equal-to-the-Apostles Christ's disciple Mary Magdalene! To you, as the most faithful and powerful intercessor for us to God, we now diligently resort to sinners and unworthiness and pray in contrition of our hearts. In your life you have experienced the terrible wiles of demons, but by the grace of Christ you have clearly been freed from them; And with your prayers deliver us from the snare of demons, so that in all our lives we may faithfully serve the One Holy Master God, as we were promised to Him, in our deeds, words, thoughts and secret thoughts of our hearts. You loved the Sweetest Lord Jesus more than all earthly blessings, and you followed His goodness through all your life, Divine teachings Through His grace they not only nourish their souls, but also bring many people from pagan darkness to Christ’s wonderful light; then we ask thee: ask us from Christ God for the grace that enlightens and sanctifies, so that we may be overshadowed by it and succeed in faith and piety, in the labors of love and self-sacrifice, so that those who earnestly strive to serve our neighbors in their spiritual and physical needs, remembering the example of your love for mankind. You, holy Mary, lived vigilantly through the grace of God on earth and peacefully departed to the heavenly abode; Pray to Christ the Savior, that through your prayers He will vouchsafe us to complete our journey without stumbling in this vale of weeping and to end our lives in peace and repentance. So, having lived in holiness on earth, we will be vouchsafed eternal blissful life in heaven, and there with you and all the saints together we will endure Let us praise the indivisible Trinity, let us praise the One Divinity, the Father and the Son and the All-Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Another prayer to Saint Mary Magdalene, Equal to the Apostles

ABOUT, Holy Myrrh-Bearer, Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene! You, with your warm love for Christ God, trampled the evil machinations of the enemy and found the priceless beads of Christ and reached the Kingdom of Heaven. For this reason, I fall down to you and with a tender soul and a contrite heart I cry out to you, unworthy: look down from the heights of heaven on me, who am overcome by sinful temptations; see, since the enemy besets me with many sins and troubles every day, seeking my destruction. Glorious and all-praised disciple of Christ, Mary! Pray to Christ God, beloved by you and who loved you, to grant me remission of many of my sins, to strengthen me with His grace to soberly and cheerfully walk the path of His holy commandments, and to make me a fragrant temple of the Holy Spirit: so that in the world I will shamelessly end my difficult life on earth and I will dwell in the bright and blessed abodes of heavenly paradise, where you, with all the saints, unceasingly joyfully glorify the Consubstantial Trinity, the Father, the Son and the All-Holy Spirit. Amen.